Board Blame

In Brief

The June 7 meeting of the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education didn’t exactly end with the board members holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.” Board Secretary Linda Trujillo caused a stir about four hours into the meeting by suggesting that the board reconstitute its governance—ie re-vote for each of the leadership positions. Trujillo alluded to difficulties she had in getting issues onto the agenda and seemed to be targeting Board President Barbara Gudwin with her remarks.

“If I have run the meetings in a way that was disappointing to you, I think that’s something you could have brought to me; we could have talked about it…I’m really sorry you made that suggestion [to reconstitute the board governance],” Gudwin said at the meeting.

Although Trujillo’s comments were directed toward Gudwin, SFPS Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez also seemed to take them to heart. Gutierrez related an anecdote of a visiting principal from one of the schools asking her how she tolerated the lack of respect she gets from the school board.

“If you want another superintendent, that’s your choice,” Gutierrez said at the meeting. “If you want another executive team, that’s your choice. And I suggest you make these decisions because I don’t want to work for people who don’t respect me.”

Trujillo didn’t return a call for comment, but Board Member Steven Carrillo tells SFR that he believes Trujillo felt Gudwin was stonewalling issues Trujillo wanted on the meeting agendas.

“I am not clear as to why Bobbie emoted in the way that she did,” Carrillo said of Gutierrez’s response, “when in fact it wasn’t really calling into question her performance; it was more the board itself.”